1836 – Indiana passed the Mammoth Internal Improvement Act. The law proposed the building of interconnected canals, turnpikes and railroads throughout the state. Numerous construction issues and an economic panic the following year led the state to financial failure.
1859 – At a joint meeting of the Indiana General Assembly, Mary Thomas spoke in favor of a petition signed by more than a thousand men and women from Wayne County. She urged lawmakers “to grant to women the same rights in property as men, and also the right of suffrage.”
1897 – A bill was introduced in the Indiana House which would allow the state to use a new method for squaring a circle. It also set a new value for pi. The bill passed the House but failed in the Senate when a Purdue professor explained the mathematical errors in the proposal.
1919 – Indiana ratified the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Called the “Prohibition Act,” the amendment made illegal the production, transport and sale of alcohol.
1935 – The Indianapolis Star reported that the Armory Building “rocked with laughter” during an evening of witticisms from famed humorist Will Rogers. All proceeds went to the Junior League. During his visit to the city, Rogers met with Governor Paul V. McNutt and visited children at Riley Hospital.
2017 – In Washington, D.C., former Indiana Governor Mike Pence took the oath to become Vice President of the United States. A native of Columbus, Pence is the sixth Hoosier to rise to the nation’s second-highest office.